<p>You never know when someone will get sick - student loans are not bankruptable, but home loan would be, unsecured loans…Student loans are there for life with very few exceptions (even if disabled, difficult to get rid of based on a print series about student loans…)</p>
<p>Many students do not understand their FA package to know what is loans - parent plus, etc. </p>
<p>I know lots of people have weighed in…don’t know how your parents are expecting to pay the loan back, but that is not your worry. It is a huge amount of money. Our daughter had a variety of choices last year…ended up taking a national LAC ranked in the 40s with a huge scholarship over a top ranked (in the teens) with less aid…She will owe 20,000 when she graduates…mainly bc we thought she should contribute. Also, she visited the school where she landed and loved it… If you are thinking about graduate school, you should consider the financial piece.</p>
<p>You can be successful if you want to be wherever you go, so especially if grad school is in your future, save money on undergrad. D is at large university…her best friend has done summer research at Duke, has a REU this summer at Harvard, is a Goldwater, has an undergraduate research grant and has done research with cutting edge tech since freshman year…all at a school that’s not on most people’s radar…it what you do at the college you attend that matters in the end!!!</p>
<p>Do you have any choices in between Wes and 130+ ranked LAC? Lots of colleges higher up on the ranking list that would have offered merit money to a kid with Wes stats. It would be unfortunate if you really have no other options. I would suggest a very clear and frank discussion with your parents and have something in writing. Then you can really look at their expectations and what you would need to pay back. $150K is a lot of money to pay back, even at a low interest rate. How long do you have to pay it back? How much is the total (loan plus interest?). Do you want to live at home for the first five years after graduating college? Good luck.</p>